EFA member SSW wants to give a voice to the North in German Federal Parliament

The Danish-Frisian minority party SSW will run for the first time in 60 years in a federal election. This was decided by a majority of the 111 delegates at the SSW state party conference on Saturday in Flensburg.

While great progress has been made in minority politics at the state level thanks to the SSW, this does not apply equally at the European or federal level, said SSW leader Flemming Meyer. In addition, fewer and fewer federal representatives know why there are national minorities in Germany and why they have a right to protection and promotion. Too often the institutions of the minorities are forgotten in federal funding programs.

“With a member of Parliament in Berlin, we can give the minorities a face and a strong voice,” said Meyer.

It is time for the minorities to represent their interests themselves, said the chairman of the SSW in the regional parliament, Lars Harms.

However, the SSW also sees itself as the voice of all people in Schleswig-Holstein. Even if there is probably only a single SSW representative, the SSW could do a lot for the North, said Flemming Meyer: “There are 26 members of the Bundestag from Schleswig-Holstein. Nevertheless, our federal state usually loses out when funds are distributed. A SSW delegate can address the issues that concern us in the North, completely independently and confidently, without having to be subordinate to factional pressures and the interests of other federal states. We want to be the unadulterated voice of the North, ”said SSW boss Meyer.

66 of the 111 delegates voted for participation in the federal election in 2021. With 41 votes against and four abstentions, around 60 percent of the delegates voted for a comeback for the SSW in Berlin.

EFA wants to express its support to SSW for the federal election and wishes luck and success. For years, SSW has proved the commitment to work hard for the interests of the Frisian and Danish minorities in Germany. We have no doubt that they will now be the voice of the North in Berlin. Viel Erfolg!